Santhera Pharmaceuticals and Ipsen have entered into a license agreement to develop and commercialise fipamezole outside of the US, Canada and Japan.
Fipamezole is an antagonist of the adrenergic alpha-2 receptor for the treatment of dyskinesia in Parkinson’s disease, which causes functional disability in patients.
Under the license agreement, Ipsen will have the right to commercialise fipamezole outside of the three countries for an upfront payment of €13m and additional payments based upon future development, regulatory and sales milestones of up to €128m.
Biovail Corporation holds the commercial rights to fipamezole in the US and Canada, while Santhera has commercial rights in Japan.
The first Phase III study of fipamezole for the treatment of dyskinesia in Parkinson’s disease is expected to start in 2011.
